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The night hadn’t yet faded to morning and would not do so for several hours following when Matt awoke.
He was sweaty, buried under a plethora of blankets placed there by Mello in the hopes of combatting the sharp chill that hung around them (due to a broken radiator).
Annoyed, the brunette flipped onto his other side and got comfortable for a second time, determined not to let this momentary disruption uproot his plans of repose for the rest of the night.
Sleep, however, would not come.
He lay there for what felt like ages, turning his thoughts over and over again in his mind, trying to wear himself out.
After roughly an hour of this back-and-forth battle with his subconscious, Matt gave up. He heaved himself into a sitting position and reached for a cigarette, then paused.
Mello hated when he smoked inside, and Matt eventually came to the decision that smoking out on the balcony would ultimately be preferred to facing the wrath of his blonde little porcupine of a housemate.
Yawning, he swung his legs over the side of their bed and set them on the chilled wood floor.
The apartment was silent as he padded out into the living room and opened the balcony’s sliding door, relishing the gust of freezing air that hit him in the face upon stepping outside.
The masses of greyish cloud overhead warned of mild snow in the near future; not that Matt cared, he liked the snow.
He leaned casually against the metal rail and took a long, flourishing drag of his cigarette, savoring the softness of early morning under his tongue.
The smoke curled upwards in large, wispy spirals and faded out against the gloomy sky, reminding Matt vaguely of a few Japanese renaissance-style paintings he’d enjoyed looking at as a child. They were conventional pieces -probably watercolor or ink- depicting scenes of domestic life in rural Japan. Roger had thought they would be a good addition to the Whammy’s bedrooms, and Matt really couldn’t say he was wrong.
A light breeze crept through his ruffled hair and under the collar of his shirt, making him wish he’d been smart enough to grab a jacket before coming out here.
What must have been no more than fifteen minutes passed without a single disruption until he heard the door slide open behind him and Mello was standing at his side.
“Matt… come back to bed.”
“Hey,” he laughed softly, turning to face him.
“Hey yourself. It’s- what, like three in the morning?” Mello grumbled, leaning heavily against Matt’s shoulder and shutting his eyes, “get your ass back to bed. I’m cold.”
“Alright, Mells. I’ll be there in a minute.”
Mumbling obscenities under his breath, the blonde lifted his head from Matt’s shoulder and trudged back inside, pausing momentarily to yell behind him, “And change into a different shirt, you smell like you smoked a whole pack.”
Matt snorted.
He finished his cigarette and put it out against the railing before going back inside.
After changing into fresh clothes and rinsing his face briefly in the bathroom sink, he tiptoed softly down the hallway and back into his and Mello’s shared room.
He found the man dozing quietly against his pillows, no doubt having fallen back asleep while waiting for Matt to return.
A soft huff escaped the brunette’s lips as he strode across the floor and climbed back into bed, gazing fondly down at Mello’s relaxed features.
He lay there for several minutes without speaking or moving, engrossed in mulling over what the day ahead of him might look like; breakfast, maybe a few business deals with whatever organization Mello was wanting to partner with, video games, the usual.
Roughly a quarter of an hour had passed when Matt felt the body next to him shift, and he turned his head to be met with Mello’s tired, half-lidded gaze.
“Hi,” he murmured.
“..Hey,” the blonde slurred, exhaustion blanketing his words with a gentle heaviness as he spoke.
“What are you still doing up?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Matt responded vaguely, “I guess I can't sleep.”
Further movement to his right caught his attention and before the gamer could fully grasp what was going on, his partner’s hands were braced on either side of him and a pair of striking blue eyes were staring down at his own.
“What are y-”
Whatever protestations Matt intended to make were cut off as Mello grabbed his chin and braced the pad of his thumb against his lower lip.
“Oh, shut up, will you?”
Heat crept up his face, shading it a rich shade of scarlett and making his freckles stand out attractively against the bridge of his nose.
Mello’s heart stuttered in his chest as he stared fixedly down at the man under him, gaze averted, hair splayed messily over the pillow.
“And if I don't?” he murmured, meeting the blonde’s eyes at last.
“...”
Mello inched closer, dragging his thumb over his partner’s lip and Matt had to restrain himself from licking it playfully, if he was honest.
The distance between them was swallowed in a matter of seconds.
Mello’s hand slid down to cup his cheek while Matt’s found their way to his hair, twisting themselves in the silky strands and pulling them gently.
Something within Matt flamed to life as his lover held him, burning steadily through whatever restless feelings still festered in his body, melting between veins and marrow and pouring itself lovingly into Mello’s mouth.
The brunette sighed softly as their kiss deepened, revelling in the affectionate way Mello’s tongue ghosted across his lips, the way his warm breaths became intertwined with his own.
They broke apart for only a few precious seconds, breathing hard, before Matt was pulling their mouths back together.
“Hmh..” the blonde laughed against his skin, amusement playing into his every touch.
Mello’s lips eventually moved from his mouth and began administering tender kisses down the side of his face, his neck, his throat- nudging his shirt collar aside as he went.
Matt couldn’t hold back a gasp when his partner pressed firmly into his shoulder, sucking lightly at the freckled skin beneath his shirt.
Mello loved the sound; loved it carnally, in a way that he couldn’t help but feel was nearly sacrilegious in its intensity.
He drew back after a moment to assess his work, grinning inwardly at the flushed mess of a man pinned underneath him.
“God,” Matt exhaled breathlessly, “what is wrong with you?”
“Hm, I supposed it was the only way to tire you out enough to fuckin’ sleep,” Mello sighed, trying to calm the motions of his heart enough to relax properly.
“Well, mission-fucking-accomplished,” the brunette scoffed.
Mello didn’t take the trouble of replying, choosing instead to lower himself until he was lying fully on top of Matt.
The two became comfortable after some amount of shuffling around, ending up pressed flush against each other.
Mello buried his face deep in Matt’s shoulder, sighing.
“Go to sleep, baby.”
“Yeah, okay,” Matt whispered, eyes drooping closed.